Rep Power: 0

Hi,

My son has a 1997 civic, drove to work OK, came out of work and the car would not start, turns over fine, but does not catch...AAA towed it home.

We're thinking it’s either fire or fuel

Battery is fine 13.9v

Fuel pump fuse (#15) is fine

There are no CEL codes, CEL comes on and goes out after 2 seconds when trying to start the engine and when I short the blue terminal port in the passenger footwell the CEL comes on and stays on, no flashing at all (so no code to read)

Pulled the spark plugs, cleaned and gapped them, I see the spark from each if I hold it to the engine block

I think the injectors are OK, they all have 14.6 ohms when tested in place and they have power pulsing to them when starting the car, can smell gas and the plugs are wet if we pull them after trying to start the engine.

The main relay seems to be OK, I hear 1 click when turned to IGN, I hear another 2 seconds later when the CEL goes out, I do not hear a third when trying to start the engine, however there is fuel getting to the injector rail (I took the fuel filter outlet pipe from the injector rail and put it into a small bucket, there is fuel sent during the 2 seconds between fuel relay clicks and then it stops, when we move the the start position and the engine turns over there is fuel coming out of the fuel filter outlet constantly), and I do hear another click when turning back to IGN from Start (stopping the fuel again)

Took off the valve cover and the upper timing belt cover, set it so the UP was up, and the slash marks level with the head, #1 was up and the rotor was in the #1 position...all seems well.

We tested the CKP, CYP and TDC sensors for an open circuit, all ok at about 380 ohms.

At this point I'm at a loss, we have fuel and fire and the timing seems right…any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

 
Rep Power: 517

Will spark jump a 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap at the plug wire end?

 
Rep Power: 0

No, it doesn't jump off the end of the plug to the engine block, but if held to the engine block it sparks between the plug core and the ground electrode.

 
Rep Power: 517

Are the sparkplugs wet with fuel?

Provided you tested the spark jump properly: If the spark cannot jump a gap that far, then you don't have the necessary 15-20kV available at the plugs, it is getting used up or lost. You either have a problem within the cap and rotor area, or a bad ignition coil. I doubt the issue is the plug wires.

 
Rep Power: 188

Might be repetative or not needed but anyway here you go..

Check for spark

1) Unplug all four fuel injector clips to avoid flooding the cylinders with gas during the procedure. (Thanks goes to Sonia's Driver at H-T for this tip.)

2) Buy a spare NGK spark plug for your engine (inexpensive $2-3) and gap it properly.

3) Remove the plug wire from one spark plug and insert the spare plug into the end.

4) While firmly grounding the threads of the spark plug against a clean metallic area of the valve cover, have a buddy crank the engine. If you are concerned about getting shocked, you can wear a rubber glove on the hand holding the spark plug, though this is really unnecessary if you take care to keep fingers or other body parts away from the spark plug tip.

5) With the engine cranking, you should see bright white spark (with only a faint bluish tinge) rather than weak orange/yellow or deep blue spark at the tip of the plug.

6) Repeat procedure above for the remaining three spark plugs.

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Outcomes and troubleshooting

A) Weak orange/yellow or deep blue spark

Check whether the coil in the distributor is bad. The service manual describes resistance measurements to test the coil or, alternatively, find out whether your local autoparts stores (e.g., AutoZone) will test it for you (some will not).

B) All plugs lack spark

Do these steps in order:

a) Check whether the timing belt snapped or stripped. This is most easily done by removing the oil filler cap and, while a buddy cranks the engine, by peering into the hole with a flashlight to look for evidence that the camshaft is turning (e.g., movement of the rocker arms). If the belt snapped (=no rocker arm movement), install a new timing belt, tension it properly, and then comepressoin test the cylinders. The latter step is essential as major engine damage may have occurred when the timing belt snapped/stripped.

b) Check whether the important G101 ground wire on the thermostat housing is loose or corroded. If so, clean it thoroughly with steel wool and tighten. By the way, if G101 is disconnected or loose, the engine will lack both spark and fuel.

c) Check whether the CEL remains ON when the key is turned to ON(II). If so, pull the code(s). If a code for one of the distributor sensors (codes 4, 8, or 9) or the igniter/ICM (code 15) is retrieved, then the distributor subassembly or igniter/ICM, respectively, is possibly bad. Further troubleshooting here would be: d) Check whether battery voltage is reaching the coil and igniter wire on the Blk/Yel wire in the distributor when the key is turned to ON(II). If not, there may be a bad wire from the ignition switch (or for 98-00 Civics, a blown fuse 9 in the under-hood fuse/relay box). A bad ignition switch is another possibility but, in this case, the engine will lack both spark and fuel.

e) Check whether the coil or igniter/ICM in the distributor is bad. Again, there are resistance tests for the coil (see FAQs sticky), but you may have to take the igniter/ICM to an auto parts store (e.g., AutoZone) for testing.

f) In some cases, lack of spark is due to a bad ECU. This is usually only considered if all tests described above yield negative results.

C) Some but not all plugs have weak spark or lack spark

Check the plug wires,distributor cap, and rotor

 
Rep Power: 517

I hate using spark color as any type of guide, too open to interpretation. My only concern is "how large of a gap will the spark jump across?".
A spark that is only 1/8" long will jump a plug gap but won't run an engine.


/carry on....